U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel on Friday (3) and used his meeting with Israeli leaders to advocate for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting in Gaza, stating that Israel must “do more to protect Palestinian civilians.”
Blinken arrived in Israel amid growing international concern over the death toll in Gaza, where local health authorities report that more than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its airstrikes in the area.
Humanitarian agencies are warning of a humanitarian catastrophe as the area runs out of food, water, medicine, and fuel.
However, in a statement to reporters on Friday (3), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would continue its campaign in Gaza with “all its might” and “reject a temporary ceasefire that does not include the return of our hostages.”
Blinken’s trip to the Middle East comes amid signs that U.S. political support for Israel’s war tactics is beginning to wane.
On Thursday, Senator Chris Murphy, a respected Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, stated that Israel’s offensive was “causing an unacceptable level of civilian damage and does not seem likely to achieve the goal of permanently eliminating the Hamas threat.”
Financial Support for Israel
The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday (2) a Republican proposal to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel and nothing to Ukraine.
Biden has asked Congress to approve a broader emergency spending package of $106 billion, including funding for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine, as well as humanitarian aid. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the bill has no future in the House. The Biden administration has stated that the proposal will be vetoed if it reaches the White House.
The most controversial part of the Republican proposal is not just leaving other countries out of the aid, but how House lawmakers found a way to cover the cost of aid to Israel: by cutting some funding intended for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Democrats opposed cutting money from the IRS, viewing the measure as politically motivated since, with the cut, the IRS will have fewer resources to collect taxes, especially from the wealthy, which could eventually further increase the country’s budget deficit.
Source: The Guardian and Financial Times